After falling behind 20-0 in the first quarter, Reinhardt responded with 24 points in the second quarter en route to a 52-48 upset of No. 18 Lindsey Wilson on Saturday in Columbia, Ky.
Lindsey Wilson, ranked No. 18 in the 2014 NAIA Football Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 Poll, pulled ahead 48-45 with 5:46 remaining in the fourth quarter. But, Ian McIntosh’s two-yard touchdown run with 1:35 left capped a 13-play, 71-yard drive and put the Eagles ahead for good.
“The message was to quit losing the game physically,” ReinhardtEagles.com quoted Reinhardt head coach Dr. Danny Cronic as saying. “I was disappointed with the way we came out and played to start the game, and I was pretty harsh with them at that point. After that, we got a big play on offense and a couple of big plays on defense, and all of a sudden, we’re right back in it.”
In what was anything but a defensive struggle, the two teams combined for more than 1,200 offensive yards. L.J. Stegall led Reinhardt’s ground attack, rushing for 146 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries, good for an average of 8.1 yards per carry.
Reinhardt’s two quarterbacks — Johnathon Chamblee and Ryan Thompson — combined to complete 18 of 27 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, Branden Cresap put up an impressive performance for the Blue Raiders, completing 30 of 42 passes for 490 yards and five touchdowns in the loss.
“Cresap is good, and he’s got good receivers,” ReinhardtEagles.com quoted Cronic as saying. “We have to give them some credit for what they were doing. We were shooting ourselves in the foot, but they were doing a really good job of putting the ball in the end zone also.”
Reinhardt (1-1) hosts Kentucky Christian (1-1) on Saturday. Lindsey Wilson (1-1) hosts Kentucky Wesleyan College (0-1).
